Filipinos have a sweet tooth full stop! Every region around the archipelago boasts its own sweet and savoury offerings and we have all the excuses to indulge in these treats anytime of the day, especially during merienda (meal gap between lunch and dinner) time. If you visit the Philippines you’ll find some of the restaurants even offer an ‘eat-all-you-can merienda’ or ‘snack to sawa’, a buffet style where you can sample most of the regional sweet offerings.

It was the middle of winter but the foodie scene in Sydney is hotter than July to say the least. New restaurant menus launched along with themed pop ups sprouted around the Sydney food scene. My gratitude to Jen @sweetandyummie on Instagram for extending her invites and tagging me along to some of the most incredible dinners in July. Here are my July top pick restaurants.

The 9th annual Pyrmont Festival will return from 20 September – 6 October 2019 for seventeen packed days of mouth-watering food, fine wine, and the very best in local arts and culture. The festival is headlined by a two-day family-friendly event at Pirrama Park overlooking Sydney Harbour on 28-29 September from 11am – 5pm, one of the biggest free outdoor food and wine festival in Sydney.

Going up to the Blue Mountains in the wintertime is one of the things that we always like to do. To feel the cold air, put on layers, go for bush walks and most importantly a glass of wine in front of a fire. It’s a relaxing getaway!

Mahalo Sydneysiders! The poke-nominal bowls of Byron Bay and Surfers Paradise has landed on the beautifully laid out food centre on Level 5 of Westfield Shopping Centre Corner Pitt St and Market St in the CBD. Finn Poké opened its first shop in Byron Bay in 2017, a brainchild of brother and sister Jem and Joelle Jacinto and now it’s Sydney’s turn to be bowled.

Imagine a table laid out with banana leaves rather than typical tablecloths. Colourful food like lechon, lumpia, prawns and enough mounds of rice to fell even the toughest of carb-loaders are strategically placed on all areas of the long table. Guests are seated next to family, old friends, new friends. It’s a fun festival of food and feasting.

Each year, Sydney turns into a dazzling extravaganza of lights. The spectacular displays on the famous Landmarks, Sydney’s skyline and throughout parks are turning the Vivid Sydney into one of the best known light, music and ideas festivals in the Southern Hemisphere.

The final day has arrived so we thought we would make the most of it. For the past 4 days our morning routine included a brisk walking on Deck 3, read the Daily Programme, catch up with news on the television then breakfast.

When we woke and got up, we found some toiletries on the bathroom floor that had fallen due to last nights swells. Thankfully our sleep was not disturbed by the rough seas, perhaps even enhanced by the motion.

Who doesn’t love movies and ice cream? I think this combo is one the best treats, it cools things off especially during a tense scene of a movie. Ice cream always brings a smile, so there’s always room for it, right? Right!

“Gong hei fat choy” – Wishing you great happiness and prosperity. The Year of the Pig is upon us! Today, Chinese communities around the globe are celebrating Chinese New Year 2019, the most anticipated and most colourful festival also known as Lunar New Year or Spring Festival. This is a long celebration and this year it will last until the 19th of February, the end of the Spring Festival.

If you’re looking for a good picnic area in a secluded bushland setting alongside spectacular water views then the Woronora Dam is definitely worth visiting, located on the Wonorora River on Sydney’s Southern fringe. It’s less than an hours drive from the city on the Princes Highway, bear right continuing on the Highway where it splits to become the Princes Motorway. Passing through Waterfall and its large railway station, the turn-off to Woronora Dam Road will be sign posted a short drive up and will a right hand turn off the Highway.

The current residential development along the Princes Highway from Wolli Creek and beyond in the southern suburbs of Sydney is making it the latest foodie destination with new shops, cafes and restaurants opening as well as creative makeovers of old favourites. It’s a brand new community which is rising up along the Highway that was once our own Auto-Alley.

Christmas holidays maybe over but summer is just hitting its peak. Baby it’s scorching hot outside! Yes, most parts of Australia have been bracing for heatwaves over the last few days and the best place to cool down is definitely by the pool or beach. If you still have some holiday break left, check out the unsurpassed beauty of Tea Gardens and Hawks Nest of New South Wales about a 2 – 1/2 hour drive North of Sydney.

December is a big month of parties and family catch ups, the silly season where we go on big shopping sprees, negotiate jostling crowds and chaotic traffic for those tempting end of year sales and holiday breaks. It also marks the end of the school term, and what better way to get your kids in the holiday spirit than going to catch one of the big blockbuster movie releases on Boxing Day onwards. If you’re looking for something new, indulgent and delicious to go with the movie, check out these new sundae flavours at a cinema near you.

The historic and charming narrow sandstone-lined Nurses Walk in The Rocks is buzzing right now with the opening of Tayim, a new restaurant offering modern and traditional Middle Eastern fare. We had the opportunity to attend the media launch party of Tayim last week.

A few years ago when Boodle Feast posts exploded on Instagram, I felt I was left out, none of the Sydney Filipino restaurants that I know offered this type of dining. Boodle feast was high on my bucket list to tick off and that desire was finally fulfilled on one of my trips back to Manila a couple of years ago and I managed to blogged it, link here.

It was a weekend of rice power!
What a better way to spend the first day of summer surrounded by an array of delicious dishes from all over the world with one common ingredient – rice! Last Saturday, I attended the Sydney World Rice Festival 2018 held at the Showring Entertainment Quarter in Moore Park, a 2 day event and my tastebuds are is still raving how delicious the offerings were.

Have you ever wanted to take your tastebuds to Myanmar and beyond? Then you will truly enjoy the current series of delicious Indochine inspired tasting menus at Bistro Mekong located at Shop 5 / 100 Edinburgh Rd. Castlecrag on the Lower North Shore of Sydney.

Sydney is once again graced by mauve thanks to the yearly Jacaranda season. November is the peak month and these flowers are drawing crowds for photo ops and I must admit those spectacular blooms are insta-worthy. If you haven’t had the chance to take a selfie or a group photo don’t despair, the magical purple flowers are still here for more few weeks.

It’s almost the beginning of summer and for most of us that means getting outside and enjoying the longer and warmer days. Everything blooms this time of the year and for food aficionados like me, I’m totally out of my hibernation, it’s time to go out and discover new venues and seasonal offerings that will whet my appetite around Sydney.